He also completed his Duty to God, turned in his mission papers, AND applied to a University just 2 days before his birthday. Our young man is GROWING UP! As a family we are excited for El Gringo to start this new chapter in his life and we all look forward to these precious last few months that we have left with this GREAT KID in our home.

To celebrate this monumental day, El Gringo requested only a few things:

No “extra” attention (i.e. – simple house decorations and no fussing over him)

He would like to celebrate part of his birthday in the temple

He would like cinnamon rolls for breakfast and his FAVORITE birthday cake made for him sometime today.

After a 2 week break from Seminary, waking up at 4:15 a.m. has proved a bit harder to do than I expected. So last night I wasn’t finding the energy to make our 3 hour cinnamon roll recipe. Thankfully I was blessed to not only find this AMAZINGLY FAST and SIMPLE cinnamon roll recipe but I also think it is my personal favorite. I am not a fan of ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls. I like the dough of the roll to be COMPLETELY cooked and I like the actual cinnamon roll to not be too sweet. I feel that this recipe NAILED my expectations, of course after I made a few alterations of my own.

(see my version of this recipe below!)

As for the FAVORITE birthday cake, El Gringo LOVES brownies and he LOVES chocolate. So last year we searched for a cake to fill both desires and we stumbled upon this SUPER RICH, CHOCOLATEY bundt cake and he couldn’t wait to have it once more. This recipe is SUPER SIMPLE and EASY enough that you can mix it up and have it ready in just an hour. I didn’t make any alterations to this recipe except what brownie/cake mixes we had on hand in Costa Rica (which happened to be a Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake mix and a Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix). The recipe seemed to whip up just the same as last year and it smells divine.

I am SUPER grateful for this special day today. I have been told that kids WILL grow up and that one day it just happens. Well, that seems to be true with El Gringo too. One day he just got up and started to get things done. Now he is just months away from leaving home and starting his life as an adult. It is a bit overwhelming and enjoyable, all at the same time.

Here’s to your first 18 years El Gringo, we look forward to watching you learn and grow into the FABULOUS man we know you can be. We love you!!!!! Happy Golden Birthday!

(a.k.a. – MOM!)

P.S.: In honor of your birthday, your sister made a list of shows you loved to watch over the years and I thought of songs you loved to listen to most. Hope you enjoy the walk down memory lane in years to come.

4cupsall-purpose flour + more flour until the dough forms a workable ball that does not stick to rolling pin

1tspsalt

Filling

dark brown sugar (around 1/2 to 3/4 cup)

white sugar (around 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup)

cinnamonground

butter

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

4ozcream cheese, softened

2tbspbutter, softened

2cuppowdered sugar

1/2tspvanilla extract

1tsp lemon juice (or lime or orange – it just gives it a tangy taste that we love! Try it.)

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the water with the instant yeast and 1 tsp of sugar. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, milk, sugar and melted butter to the yeast mixture and whisk until well combined.

In a large bowl combine the flour with the salt. Pour the yeast mixture and using a wooden spoon stir until well combined. You should have a thick sticky dough, see video on how to make this dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out onto the well floured, plastic covered surface, until it’s approximately 16 inches long by 12 inches wide and about 1/4 inch in thickness. The thickness is key!!! Rolling the dough too thin makes tough rolls, too thick makes a gooey roll.

Spread some butter over the entire surface of the dough, then sprinkle with white sugar evenly over the surface of the dough. Next sprinkle with dark brown sugar. Then sprinkle with ground cinnamon. (Watch this video to see how to layer your filling without measuring.)

Starting at the long edge, right in front of you, roll the dough away from you. Mark out your dough into 2 inch slices. Then use floss to cut them (as seen in first video). Place the rolls, cut side up, into the prepared baking pan, seams turned into the center of the pan (as seen in the second video).

Cover your rolls tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them rise until half again as high, about 1 hour. Once risen, remove the plastic wrap and place the rolls into a cold oven. Turn your oven to 350 degrees, allowing the pan to slowly heat up with the oven. Bake your rolls for 17 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the cream cheese icing. Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. If the icing is a bit too stiff add 1 tbsp of milk. Serve the hot rolls and dollop with frosting (my kids like to control how much icing they get). Enjoy!!!!

What a tribute to your sweet boy! That is an awesome golden birthday!! Alyssa said she is going to have the same thing next year! 19 on the 19th in 2019! I’m so happy to hear he got his papers submitted! Now the wait begins! Happy Birthday El Gringo! ❤️